***Recipe Alert: Avocado Jam Sandwhich***

My pleasure of eating not so common food pairs continue. Oh yes, lately for breakfast I've been having an avocado and fresh berries or all natural jam, on toast. I do ask you, is this combination really weird? Think about it, most people do have toast with butter. I'm just replacing the butter with an even more heart healthy,buttery spread of avocado. I do find this sandwhich to be a great combination of sweet and savory! You may actually want to try this out! Here are the deets: 2 slices of whole wheat or whole grain toast. 1/8th of a ripe avocado 1 teaspoon of an all natural jam ( I like Polaners Orange Marmalade) 1. Spread the avocado evenly on one slice of toast. 2. Spread the jam on the other slice of toast 3. Cut in half and enjoy! Total WW pts.: 4 What are you guys having for breakfast? PS: Ill post a pic up tomorrow!

***Yogurt Alert: Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr

Good Morning Everyone,

I think it's been a while since we've had a Yogurt Alert. Boy, do I have a good one for you today! Siggi's Icelandic Style Skyr yogurt. Seriously, this yogurt is so thick, it's like softened cream cheese sweetened with a bit of agave nectar (a natural, low glycemic sweetner). Another plus, the yogurt is all natural, yes, no aspartame, sucralose, gelatin, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup!! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, check out these stats:

Cal: 120

Fat: 0

Fiber: 0

WW pts: 2

My favorite flavor is the orange ginger, and I plan on trying the blueberry today. The only downfall on this is the price. Each 60z. container can be between $1.50 - $2.50, depending on where you buy it from. I do think this is something you should try atleast once though! This also makes a great dessert, or you can even spread it on toast!

Delicious!!!

Tips for eating out when on a business trip or vacation

Don't let your outside adventures throw a pitch fork in you already wonderful healthy lifestyle! Just because you are on a business trip or on vacation, doesn't mean you need to go wild and raid the buffett. Just remember, you may be on a vacation, but your diet is not :-) 1. Keep yourself hydrated. Often thirst can be mistaken for hunger. Try to always keep a refillable water bottle with you and refill as needed! 2. Avoid anything saucey...especially cream saucey. You'll be setting yourself up with a caloric mess on this one. 3. Go for the grilled options. Oh yes, lean grilled proteins are your best bet here. Grilled chicken, grilled seafood, grilled beef. 4. If you are at a buffet, help yourself to a salad and clear broth soup. I've said it before and ill say it again, these will fill you up with minimal calories and will help you not over eat. 5. Keep healthy snacks on hand: almonds, apples, granola bars etc. You may not know what time you will be having lunch or dinner. You d Also don't want to be famished and eat all the high fattening high caloric food. Not only will the snacks keep you satisfied, but it also will not send your body into starvation mode! 6. When eating out, try to load up on the fruits and veggies. Remember may be on vacation, and you should enjoy yourself. If. You really want a high caloric dish, try to have only 1/2 or a 1/4 of the dish, and then something healthy on the side. 7. When I'm eating out, I sometimes only order two appetizers for my meal. This is very filling, the portions are great, its cheap, and I get two different things! 8. Let's face it, you may not be able to eat healthy all of the time, try to counter act this by walking or getting some other form of excersise in. I hope these tips help you on your next vacation or business trip!

***Recipe Alert: My Soutwest Bowl***

One serving of Perdue Honey Roasted shortcuts, diced

1/4c. Of fresh corn

1/2c. Of black beans

1 tomato, diced

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 yellow or orange pepper, thinly sliced

Salt/ pepper to taste

2tb. Of balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon of EVOO

You cannot get any easier than this peoples, throw all of this in a bowl and mix it up! Let it stand for about 10 minutes before devouring, so the flavors can marry each other :-) This filling, nutritious meal has only 4 WW points! Make a big batch, and portion this out for lunch or dinner! If you guys have any request for healthy recipes please email me atkanwal.ullah@gmail.com Ciao!

Getting Your Workout On...

With summer practically here I think we are all working a littleharder to get our bodies awesomely toned. I thought I'd post a few practical ways for you to get you workout on! Tae-Bo - with a busy work schedule Billy and I have gotten to know each other again :-). In my opinion, nothing beats the original Tae-Bo, but there is Tae-Bo cardio and Tae-Bo bootcamp available. You'll get yourself a great heart pumping workout with these! Take a class - why not get your heart pumping and learn some new dance moves at the same time. That's exactly what I did when I took Bhangra classes in the city! There are an array of dance classes you can take and still get a great workout. Salsa, bhangra, and belly dancing are great ideas! Go traditional - lace up your running shoes and go for an hours speedwalk or a cardio pumping run! Gymin It - I still love going to the gym for my runs and stairmaster. However, if you are a member of a gym and feel like something different, look into the classes they have to offer. These days I see gyms are being pretty innovative in trying out new things. I've even seen a hula hoop class! Yoga - I personally have not tried this, but a lot of my friends are into Bikram yoga. According to them you do body challenging positions in a room over 100 degrees! I do think this is something that I'd like to try out! So, what do you guys do to workout? PS: I have a guest pass to the NYSC, if anyone wants to join me for aworkout, that'd be great!

Sapna Article is Out....

Hey Guys, Check out my article in Sapna Magazine: Good Food on a Budget :-) http://sapnamagazine.com/2009/good-food-on-a-budget/

Helpful Links...

Good Morning Everyone, I've updated my list of helpful sites that come in handy: www.calorieking.com -this site will give you the nutritional on stats on anything you can eat, even restaurant food (type in the name of the restaurant. www.fitday.com -this is a great free tool to help you keep track of your food, workouts, and weight. www.weightwatchers.com -TONS of info here, along with a points tracker and points calculator. http://www.healthydiningfinder.com/ - this is an awesome site for finding nutrition stats when eating out! http://www.indiacurry.com/nutrition/rotidosaidli.htm - Calorie count on some indian foods

Chipotle...

Hey Guys, This is just an fyi...I went onto the Chipotle website, and could not find any nutrition stats. So, I then went onto Calorieking.com and typed in Chipotle. Amazing, you can take each meal component from there and easily find out how many calories, fat, fiber you are taking in :-) Can you tell I want Chipotle for lunch? What are you guys planning on having?

Your Favorite Foods...

What foods can you absolutely not live without? My staple foods are: Yogurt -as long as its non fat Peanut butter -I try to keep it somewhat healthy and choose the SmartBalance brand Arnolds Sandwhich Thins - perfect for sammies EVOO - definitely has to be a good brand Fruits - mainly what's in season as its always fresher (I'm on a papaya kick these days) Balsamic Vinegar - again, definitely a good brand, especially to pair up with my EVOO String Cheese - Sargento reduced fat cheddar is awesome Individually wrapped chocolates - Dove and Hersheys are awesome! Just one will satisfy a chocolate craving Coffee - yes I NEED my coffee every morning Various veggies - again whatever is in season Dr. Praegers Bombay Curry Veggie burgers - I've never had such aflavorful veggie burger Hmm..I'm sure I have tons more and will continue to update. What are your favorite foods?

***Recipe Alert: Oregano Lemon Pepper Chicken***

This is a easy, great salad to make during the week for dinner. Here are the deets:

For the chicken:

1 chicken breast, cut into pieces

1 tb. of oregano

3 tb. of fresh lemon juice

1 tb. of pepper

1 tsp. of EVOO

salt to taste

Mix all of the ingredients, except for the chicken in a bowl. Add the chicken and allow to marinate for atleast half an hour.

For the salad:

1/2 bag of mixed greens

1/4c. of chickpeas, drained and washed

7-10 cherry tomatos, halved

1/4c. of red bell pepper, thinly sliced

For the dressing:

Mix 2 tb. of balsamic vinegar with 1 tb. of EVOO. Add one tsp. of salt and pepper and whisk to combine. This dressing makes for two servings.

Grill the chicken breast on your grill (George Foreman grill is great for this)

Mix all of the ingredients of the salad in a bowl.

Pour half of the dressing on top and toss salad.

Add the chicken on top.

Enjoy!!

This huge salad is 5 WW pts. and totally filling!

***Snack Attack: Yoplait Light - Cinnamon Roll***

Yogurt is probably my number one go to snack. I love my berry yogurts, my citrus yogurts and of course I cannot forget about my honey almond yogurt :-) Sometimes I do like to have a desserty yogurt rather than a savory yogurt, and for this I go to Yoplait Light! My new favorite desserty yogurt by Yoplait Light is Cinnamon Roll. This yogurt tastes incredably cinnaminy with a great tang! I highly suggest this yogurt when you want a high fat, carb laden, artery clogging cinnamon roll! Here are the deets:

Cal: 100

Fat: 0

Fiber: 0

Total of 2 WW pts. Not bad to kill a craving!

***Recipe Alert: Mexican Mish Mosh***

Guys, This is a great high fiber, heart healthy, filling salad perfect for lunch! For the guacamole (Dressing for our Mish Mosh): 1 ripe avocado Juice of half a lemon 1 tb. Of freshly chopped cilantro 1/2 red onion, diced 1/2 jalapeno, diced finely 1/2 beefsteak tomato, deseeded, diced 1/2 red bell pepper, diced finely Salt/pepper to taste In a bowl, mash up the avocado. Once fully mashed add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. ***Makes 8 servings, 1 WW pt. each For the salad: One serving of Perdue Southwestern Style carved chicken breast 1/4c. Chickpeas, drained and washed 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1/2 beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced 1 tb. Of freshly chopped cilantro Salt/pepper to taste Add all of the ingredients in a bowl. Add ONE serving of the guacomole dressing. Stir to combine. This wonderfully filling salad is 4 WW pts. Tip: Make this salad totally vegetarian by omitting the chicken andadding a serving or two of black beans!!!

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How is your day going so far? Staying on track?

Hey Everyone,

Follow me on twitter (kanwal81), for the most up to date info!

So...I didn't make it to the gym this morning, but I definitely plan on going after work today!

Tips: Eating Healthy Mexican Food

Mexican Food...wow, where do I start with this one! You have yourhigh calorie meats, fattening sour cream and artery clogging cheeses.Does this mean you should entirely ignore this most flavorfulcuisine!?!? OF COURSE NOT PPLS!!! I will however give you a fewpointers on eating Mexican food...shall we begin... First things first:Go for the salsa. This is where you can get a great flavor punchfrom. A tablespoon of tomato based salsa has about 1 WW point! If you really want your guac, then go for it, but limit yourself to nomore than 1 tablespoon (which I know can be very hard!). Althoughthis is made with heart healthy avocados, you can easily rack up thepoints if you are not careful! Go for the grilled proteins. Yup, grilled chicken or grilled steak orgrilled fish -all great choices compared to fried foods. If you can get a whole wheat tortilla...then go for this option. The added fiber will help fill you up. Stay away from anything with bubbling cheese on top -need I say more on this one? Burritos and enchiladas can run over 1300 calories a pop - I suggest not going for these options. Refried beans are no good. Seriously, anything fried and then fried again is so not figure friendly. Opt for regular pinto or blackbeans. They are still very flavorful, high in fiber and low in calories. You can have your sour cream -only if there is a low fat option though. If not, stick with the salsa. Also, go for fresh veggies in anything. You can have a great soft taco, stuffed with fresh veggies, grilled protein and topped with salsa and beans! Tortilla chips- ask if the restaurant has a baked version, if not just grab yourself ONE HANDFUL and do not go back for seconds!!! Also dip in salsa, not guac. Lastly, if you are going to a restaurant, see if you can find any nutritionals online first. This way you can plan your meals ahead oftime! Enjoy!!!

On my way to the gym again! So far going by the game plan :-)

Healthy Cooking Substitutions...

I thought I'd share some of my healthy cooking substitutions with you guys:

• Instead of using bread crumbs, I use a whole grain cereal and pulse this in my blender to make 'bread crumbs'. Use this to coat chicken or fish, or in place of where ever you would use bread crumbs
• When baking, instead of oil, I use unsweetened apple sauce. This drastically cuts the calories and fat in recipes
• If a recipe calls for sour cream, I use 1/2 low fat sour cream, mixed with non fat Greek yogurt. It has to be Greek because you want the thick consistency, without too much tartness
• When a recipe calls for flour, I use 3/4 of whole wheat flour and 1/4 all purpose flour
• When a recipe calls for heavy cream -try using 1% evaporated milk instead -you will still get the creaminess of the milk with less calories and fat
• Sneak in pureed veggies wherever you can. Making mac n cheese...add some pureed butternut squash. Seriously, no one will know it's there

These are just a few tips that I have. I'll post some more soon!!

Tips for Eating Out...

We all face obstacles when eating out. Whether it's Italian, Chinese, Indian or any other type of cuisine, we are always looking for the best options to have when eating out. I thought I would recap my Eating Out Guide... Italian Food

• If you are having pizza, go for the thin crust, you'll save yourself a ton of calories
• Avoid meats on your pizza, go for the high fiber veggies which you know are 0 points
• DO NOT, I repeat...DO NOT eat the breadsticks, ppls, its just BREAD..let it go for Italian meals
• Get your dressing on the side -dip the tip of your fork in the dressing and then eat your salad. You'll get all the flavor with minimal calories.
• When eating out, immediately ask your server to pack half of your meal to go
• If there is an option for whole wheat or multigrain pasta, get this

Chinese Food

• Start your meal off with a broth based soup and a salad. This will help fill you up and ensure you do not consume too many calories
• When at a Chinese Buffet, pick food from the top. The sauce and oils tend to fall down on the bottom of the pile of food. If you pick food from the top of the pile, you will atleast get the least amount of oil and sauce
• WATCH FOR PORTION DISTORTION. People, I cannot say this enough, if you are going to eat all that food, atleast watch for your portion sizes. Remember, you just want to taste the food, not overload and gorge on it!
• Mix your food with steamed veggies or chicken. This way you will get all the flavor for half the calories
• Go for the steamed dumplings vs. the fried dumplings. You'll be saving yourself a whole lot of saturated fat
• Try to stay away from anything deep fried, such as egg rolls or fried dumplings
• If there is brown rice, go for this over white rice, again watch for portion distortion
• Go ahead and have your fortune cookie. These satisfying, sweet treats are about 25 calories

Indian Food

• Try to stick with the vegetable based dishes, such as channa masala and aloo ghobi
• Stay away from cream and butter laden sauces -such as chicken makhani
• Have roti instead of naan. Roti's are usually made with whole wheat flour, and cooked on a flat, cast iron pan, with minimal oil
• Stay away from the mango lassis, or any other FLAVORED lassis
• Portion control your rice, keep your intake to rice no more than one cup

I hope this has helped you guys out. Are there any other types of cuisines you'd like some tips on eating out?

Gym time....
Its 6:45am and I'm making it to the gym! So far staying on track of my game plan!